Cellular communication strategy

Abstract

A mobile device stores charge status information of an electric vehicle. The charge status information is received by the mobile device from the electric vehicle via a short range wireless communication protocol in response to a triggering event at the vehicle indicating that the vehicle has been stopped. The mobile device at a later point receives a request from a user, the request involving a current state of charge of the electric vehicle. The mobile device attempts to communicate with electric vehicle to obtain information from the vehicle for responding to the request. If the mobile device is not able to communicate with the vehicle, the mobile device respond's to the user's request using the stored charge status information.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A computer-implemented method for remotely responding to a request for information regarding an electric vehicle, the method comprising:
 storing charge status information of the electric vehicle, the charge status information received from the electric vehicle via a short range wireless communication protocol in response to a triggering event at the vehicle indicating stoppage of the vehicle; 
 receiving from a user a request involving a current state of charge of the electric vehicle; and 
 responsive to being unable to communicate with the electric vehicle, responding to the request using the stored charge status information. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the short range wireless communication protocol is Bluetooth®. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the triggering event is at least one of the following: an engine of the vehicle being turned off, the vehicle being put in park mode, a driver side door being opened after the vehicle has been stopped, and the driver unbuckling his or her seatbelt. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 , wherein charge status information is transmitted from the electric vehicle a set time after the triggering event. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , wherein charge status information is transmitted from the electric vehicle periodically in response to the triggering event. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1 , wherein charge status information is transmitted from the electric vehicle in response to the triggering event and updated charge status information is transmitted from the electric vehicle in response to a change in the charge status information. 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 responsive to being unable to communicate with the electric vehicle, determining a current state of charge of the electric vehicle based on the stored charge status information; and 
 responding to the request using the determined current state of charge. 
 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the charge status information includes a state of charge of the electric vehicle and an indication of whether the electric vehicle is being charged. 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 8 , wherein responding to the request comprises:
 responsive to the charge status information indicating that the vehicle is being charged, estimating an amount of charge increase since the vehicle transmitted the charge status information; 
 determining a current state of charge of the electric vehicle based on the estimated charge increase and the state of charge included in the charge status information; and 
 responding to the request using the determined current state of charge. 
 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 8 , wherein responding to the request comprises:
 responsive to the charge status information indicating that the vehicle is not being charged, estimating an amount of charge decrease since the vehicle transmitted the charge status information; 
 determining a current state of charge of the electric vehicle based on the estimated charge decrease and the state of charge included in the charge status information; and 
 responding to the request using the determined current state of charge. 
 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the request is for a current state of charge of the electric vehicle and responding to the request comprises:
 determining the current state of charge of the electric vehicle based on the stored charge status information; and 
 presenting the determined current state of charge to the user. 
 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the request is for a current driving range of the electric vehicle and responding to the request comprises:
 determining a current state of charge of the electric vehicle based on the stored charge status information; 
 calculating the current driving range of the electric vehicle based on the determined current state of charge; and 
 presenting the current driving range to the user. 
 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the request is for a determination as to whether the electric vehicle can reach a destination with its current state of charge and responding to the request comprises:
 determining a current state of charge of the electric vehicle based on the stored charge status information; 
 determining a distance between a current location of the vehicle and the destination; 
 determining whether the vehicle can reach the destination based on the determined current state of charge and the determined distance; and 
 notifying the user as to whether the vehicle can reach the destination. 
 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 1 , wherein a mobile device performs the storing, receiving, and responding. 
     
     
       15. A computer program product having a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable code for remotely responding to a request for information regarding an electric vehicle, the computer-executable code comprising:
 a mobile device communication module configured to store charge status information of the electric vehicle, the charge status information received from the electric vehicle via a short range wireless communication protocol in response to a triggering event at the vehicle indicating stoppage of the vehicle; and 
 a charge status module configured to:
 receive from a user a request involving a current state of charge of the electric vehicle; and 
 respond to the request using the stored charge status information responsive to not being able to communicate with the electric vehicle. 
 
 
     
     
       16. The computer program product of  claim 15 , wherein the short range wireless communication protocol is Bluetooth®. 
     
     
       17. The computer program product of  claim 15 , wherein the charge status module is further configured to:
 determine a current state of charge of the electric vehicle based on the stored charge status information responsive to not being able to communicate with the electric vehicle; and 
 respond to the request using the determined current state of charge. 
 
     
     
       18. The computer program product of  claim 15 , wherein the charge status information includes a state of charge of the electric vehicle and an indication of whether the electric vehicle is being charged. 
     
     
       19. The computer program product of  claim 18 , wherein the charge status module is further configured to:
 estimate an amount of charge increase since the vehicle transmitted the charge status information in response to the charge status information indicating that the vehicle is being charged; 
 determine a current state of charge of the electric vehicle based on the estimated charge increase and the state of charge included in the charge status information; and 
 respond to the request using the determined current state of charge. 
 
     
     
       20. The computer program product of  claim 18 , wherein the charge status module is further configured to:
 estimate an amount of charge decrease since the vehicle transmitted the charge status information in response to the charge status information indicating that the vehicle is not being charged; 
 determine a current state of charge of the electric vehicle based on the estimated charge decrease and the state of charge included in the charge status information; and 
 respond to the request using the determined current state of charge. 
 
     
     
       21. A mobile computer system for remotely responding to a request for information regarding an electric vehicle, the mobile computer system comprising:
 a computer processor; and 
 a computer-readable storage medium storing computer program modules configured to execute on the computer processor, the computer program modules comprising:
 a mobile device communication module configured to store charge status information of the electric vehicle, the charge status information received from the electric vehicle via a short range wireless communication protocol in response to a triggering event at the vehicle indicating stoppage of the vehicle; and 
 a charge status module configured to:
 receive from a user a request involving a current state of charge of the electric vehicle; and 
 respond to the request using the stored charge status information responsive to not being able to communicate with the electric vehicle. 
 
 
 
     
     
       22. The mobile computer system of  claim 21 , wherein the short range wireless communication protocol is Bluetooth®. 
     
     
       23. The mobile computer system of  claim 21 , wherein the triggering event is at least one of the following: an engine of the vehicle being turned off, the vehicle being put in park mode, a driver side door being opened after the vehicle has been stopped, and the driver unbuckling his or her seatbelt. 
     
     
       24. The mobile computer system of  claim 21 , wherein the charge status module is further configured to:
 determine a current state of charge of the electric vehicle based on the stored charge status information responsive to not being able to communicate with the electric vehicle; and 
 respond to the request using the determined current state of charge. 
 
     
     
       25. The mobile computer system of  claim 21 , wherein the charge status information includes a state of charge of the electric vehicle and an indication of whether the electric vehicle is being charged. 
     
     
       26. The mobile computer system of  claim 25 , wherein the charge status module is further configured to:
 estimate an amount of charge increase since the vehicle transmitted the charge status information in response to the charge status information indicating that the vehicle is being charged; 
 determine a current state of charge of the electric vehicle based on the estimated charge increase and the state of charge included in the charge status information; and 
 respond to the request using the determined current state of charge. 
 
     
     
       27. The mobile computer system of  claim 25 , wherein the charge status module is further configured to:
 estimate an amount of charge decrease since the vehicle transmitted the charge status information in response to the charge status information indicating that the vehicle is not being charged; 
 determine a current state of charge of the electric vehicle based on the estimated charge decrease and the state of charge included in the charge status information; and 
 respond to the request using the determined current state of charge. 
 
     
     
       28. A computer-implemented method for remotely responding to a request for information regarding an electric vehicle, the method comprising:
 storing charge status information of the electric vehicle received from a mobile device, the charge status information provided to the mobile device via a short range wireless communication protocol in response to a triggering event at the vehicle indicating stoppage of the vehicle; 
 receiving a request involving a current state of charge of the electric vehicle; and 
 responsive to being unable to communicate with the electric vehicle, responding to the request using the stored charge status information. 
 
     
     
       29. A computer-implemented method for remotely responding to a request for information regarding an electric vehicle, the method comprising:
 transmitting to a remote server charge status information of the electric vehicle received from the electric vehicle, the charge status information received via a short range wireless communication protocol in response to a triggering event at the vehicle indicating stoppage of the vehicle; 
 forwarding a request from a user to the remote server, the request involving a current state of charge of the electric vehicle; 
 presenting a response to the user based on response information received from the remote server, the response information generated by the remote server using the charge status information responsive to the remote server not being able to communicate with the electric vehicle.